tdcc

With the East London Velo Winter Series drawing to a close its time to draw my attention elsewhere and gain some experience on other circuits.

This weekend saw some fast racing at the Cyclo-Park, Kent, for the 2nd round of the the Abellio-SFA RT Spring Crits.

Another good field of around 40 riders lined up on the start line of a dry, but windy track as the British Cycling Commissaire reminded us to ride safely and not to take drugs!

It was a slow start to the race as there was a a lot of new comers to the track (including myself) and didn’t know what to expect from the corners. After a few laps the pace gradually increased.

Around 5 laps in, Thomas Frost (Sunday Echappee) rode of the front of the group and I seized the opportunity to inject some pace into the race. Myself and Chris Martin (Rapha CC) bridged across to him and gained a gap on the field of around 20 metres.

Unfortunatly, the break wasn’t to last long with such an excited field chasing us, and we decided to sit up and not to waste our energy. With the pack swallowing us up within half a lap.

Photo: William Dunk @wpdunk

For the following laps the 3 of us continued to work on the front of the group as we noticed a lot of the field were dropping away at the pace we were holding. Also noticing that you didn’t really need to brake into a lot of the corners if you were at the front of the group, and therefore not wasting energy chasing back on, like you would if you were were towards the back of the pack (its also, as you probably know, A LOT safer).

We continued to work between us until 5 laps to go when a few riders tried to break clear but nothing stuck for much longer than a few 100 metres. I had learnt from my previous mistakes and let the field do the chasing this time.

With 4 laps to go the field was down to 15 riders and there was a lot of ‘looking around’ going on.

I continued to try to sit at the front of the group and follow the wheel of Thomas as I knew he was a strong rider from previous races at Redbridge.

With half a lap to go there was a a solo attack and the pack were fast to react and real him back in. This really scattered the group up and I lost my desired wheel.

Coming into the 2 last corners, which are pretty much flat out I was at the back of the group and boxed in.

We come over the crest of the small rise and I thought it was now or never. Thomas (the eventual winner) was already way up the road and I was fighting for the minor places.

But I launched my sprint anyway and was pretty happy with the outcome! I managed to come round a few riders, right on the edge of the track. And sneak into 7th.

Leaving me with 1 point of 3rd Cat and m 3rd successive top 10 finish.

Yet again the weekend leaves me wanting more and more, but I’m continually learning the ways of racing and always excited for the next race.

Round 3 of the ELV Winter Series at Redbridge Cycling Centre was the first outing for TheDomestiqueCC as a race club, but also for myself as a racer.

I used the ride from Ilford Station to Redbridge as a part of my warm up, and was growing increasingly nervous as I got closer to the start line. Not only because I didn’t know what to expect but also because of the amount of ice on the pavements. Thankfully the track is on top of a hill and is open to sunlight all day round which made out for perfect conditions to race. Be it a little cold.

After pinning on my number I headed out to the track for a couple of laps just to keep warm before I heard the sound of the whistle in which we all lined up.

The field of 35 riders lined up across the start line and I felt the nervous tension in the air and just like that, we were off.

It was a fast start with a group of 4-5 riders going clear by 50 meters almost immediately.

After 2 laps sitting in the pack watching the front group slowly gain a few more meters on us. I decided to try and close the gap myself. I attacked on the right hand side of the road just before the infamous Hog Hill and managed to close the gap just over the start/finish line. After this I was hurting a fair bit and clinging on to the group and was soon to realize my attempts had been in vain as the pack closed in within the lap anyway!

Maybe I was a bit nervous in my first race and didn’t want to not be in with a chance within a lap of the race beginning. But this is something I will certainly remember in my next outing. RELAX!

Once the field was back together the race settled down.

It was a fairly high speed throughout the race averaging 36 kph. Which when ascending Hog Hill 10 or so times, can hurt!!

With 5 laps to go the speed dropped a fair bit and I thought why not test the legs and lead the pack up the Hog. And so I went again. Half way up I looked behind me and so the group of 20 or so riders on my tail, I wasn’t pushing to hard as I wanted to make to over the line, but I certainly felt a bit of a buzz upon leading out a group of riders.

Upon cresting the climb the field once again swarmed around me and I fell back to my more familiar position at the back of the peloton catching my breath.

In the final 2 laps of the race the speed picked up a fair bit. Which dulled any chances of anyone attacking. At this point I was only clinging on.

With a lap to go the I was still there! Sitting in the mix towards the rear of the peleton. We sped out of the final corner towards our final ascent of the Hog. The speed was really high at this point.

I was right at the back of the group and as soon as the road started to ramped up, I got out of the saddle and gave it everything I had left. And was surprised with my output! I went past quite a few guys on the climb and crossed the line in 12th.

For a first outing I was fairly happy with my performance. I mananged to stay in the front group and even lead them up the climb. But I certainly learnt a lot! First of all to relax a bit at the beginning of the race.

And secondly, positioning is everything!

I think If I had asserted myself in the group better and been towards the front of the group coming into the last climb I could have broke into the top 10. But hey ho, its all part of learning the ropes and is certainly a reason to race next weekend!

Massive thanks to ELV CC for putting on a great race. Look forward to seeing you next time!